Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Beer Review: Cigar City Big Sound Scotch Ale


My dad's family is from Tampa, Florida, My dad and all his brothers attended Jesuit High School and I remember many trips down to Tampa to visit my grandparents and the rest of the family. I especially remember the cuban sandwich we used to get from some place I don't remember and I also remember always going to The Colonnade restaurant and getting a plate of the fried wild Florida gator! Yum!

I was always to young to drink beer went we went to visit and when I was of legal age the only craft brewery in town at the time was Ybor City and well, it wasn't all that good. Like Louisiana, Florida wasn't really a craft beer state. Fast forward to 2008 and my how things have changed.

Again like Louisiana, craft breweries have been popping up right and left in Florida and one of them is Cigar City in Tampa. Buy unlike many breweries in the country it seems Cigar City operates with less rules and more fly by the seat of their pants attitude which has made them a highly coveted and award winning brewery. Owner Joey Redner and Head Brewer Wayne Wambles have created a brand that not only has seen a 400% growth in 12 months and two medals at the Great American Beer Festival but also landed them on Entrepreneur.com's 10 Hot Start-ups list.

I am fortunate enough to have family in Florida(my parents live in Orlando) as I mentioned before so whenever I go visit I make sure to stop by Knightley Spirits in Orlando and grab some bottles. I was recently lucky enough to have a friend bring back two bottles of Big Sound Scotch Ale and a 110K+OT. If you find yourself in Florida make sure you do yourself a favor and grab some Cigar City. Here is my review of the Scotch Ale:


Brewery: Cigar City

Beer: Big Sound Scotch Ale

Style: Wee Heavy/Scotch Ale

ABV: 8.50%

Louisiana Availability: None

Appearance: This brew poured a nice deep copper color with a nice solid off white head. Lacing present throughout.

Smell: Wonderful aroma of caramel, tobacco, roasted malt and dark fruit.

Taste: The taste in similar to aroma. Caramel and dark fruits dominate. Slight tea like bitterness which balances the sweetness well. Nice booziness comes across.

Mouthfeel: This is one full bodied brew with very little carbonation.

Overall: Incredible brew! Perfect brew for the colder nights! On a side note I actually marinated some pork shoulder in this brew and it was incredible.

Score: Photobucket 4.5 out of 5 Buddhas

Cheers!

The Beer Buddha

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Damn it! I got all excited to try this then read "Louisiana availability: NONE".

Sounds like my perfect winter beer if I could drink it.

Travis said...

So, umm, where's my bottle?